A Brand-New Meteor Shower Could Be Spectacular Tonight — Here's How To Watch

A new meteor shower could
rival the annual Perseids shower in August.Natalie Duran

A new meteor shower called May Camelopardalis is expected to peak
in the early-morning hours on Saturday, May 24, with some
forecasters predicting more than 200 meteors every hour.

The shower, which happens as Earth passes through a stream of
debris from Comet 209P/LINEAR, has the potential to become a full
meteor storm, according to experts at Slooh, a network of
ground-based telescopes connected to the internet for public
viewing.

Comet 209P/LINEAR was discovered a little more than a decade ago,
in February 2004. It makes a full orbit of the sun every five
years, but until now, Jupiter's gravity has always pulled the
comet's debris stream out of Earth's path. That's why the meteor
shower has never been seen before. For the same reason,
scientists don't know exactly what we'll see in the sky.

If the debris field is large, it could be a spectacular show that
rivals the
Perseids in August, which typically produces 100 meteors each
hour.

It could also be a snoozefest. "It all depends on how active the
comet was more than a century ago," NASA said in a video. That's when the streams of
dust that the Earth is now crossing were ejected by the comet.

The meteor shower gets its name because the space rocks appear to
originate from the constellation Camelopardalis, aka the giraffe,
near the North Star.

NASA

Viewing Times

The best viewing will be between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m.
EDT, according to NASA. Folks in the Northern
Hemisphere will have a better show — provided observers have
clear, dark skies away from city lights — because the peak occurs
during the nighttime hours.

Observers in the U.S. and southern Canada will have the best
viewing.

"Because this is a new meteor shower, surprises are possible,"
NASA said. "Outbursts could occur hours before or after the
forecasted peak."

Astronomers David Asher and Robert McNaught predict a
"significant proportion of bright meteors" and the "possibility
of fireballs."

This graphic shows the
best viewing times for the shower based on your location in the
U.S.NASA

Where To Watch

If you can't step outside, or if weather conditions are poor,
Slooh will live-broadcast the shower, accompanied by commentary
from a handful of meteor experts. The broadcast will begin at 11
p.m. EDT on Friday, May 23.